You’ve just found the perfect pet for you and your family, and with that comes responsibility and making sure you look after them properly. Part of this is finding a trustworthy and professional vet to care for your beloved animal in the event they become unwell. How do you choose the right veterinary surgery?
Below are some pointers that can help you decide.
- Ask friends and family
If you have friends or family with pets, ask them who they trust and who they recommend, and also chat with other pet owners who live near you and see who they are most comfortable entrusting the care of their animals to.
- How far away is the practice?
Always choose a practice that’s as close to home as possible. That way, in the event of an emergency, and for simple convenience, if you need to make an urgent appointment in the event your pet is unwell, it is easy to do so. Ensure it’s on good public transport links, or easily accessible by car or on foot. Be sure to invest in an appropriate carrier for your pet.
- Does it have a good out of hours facility?
Every veterinary practice needs to make provision for out of hours treatment, even if it is not at their practice. If you work long hours, you should always check what their provision is and see if they’re open late in the evenings or at weekends too.
- Do the vets treat animals in their care with kindness?
Animal lovers will always want the most empathetic and sympathetic care for their pets. Is the vet you’re going to a genuinely caring soul who has the best interests of all their patients at heart? A good quality, reputable vet practice such as heartandpaw.com will always take the utmost care with the animals they’re entrusted to look after and keep you informed of every stage of their care.
- Fair and transparent pricing
A good vet will always be upfront and transparent over their pricing and their charges. This can all depend on their location, the treatments they offer, and their overheads. Practice staff should always know the costs for routine treatments and provide you with them when you ask. If there are extra costs incurred for your pet’s care, they should be upfront about those too and keep you informed if pricing changes.
- Do they employ specialist vets too?
Many vets will be able to carry out most treatments in their surgery, but on occasion, the services of a specialist vet may be required. An example of this might be if your pet needs a scan or has a broken bone that needs to be set. Also, think about the type of pet you have, for instance, if it is an exotic bird or other species – are they equipped and set up to deal with more unusual breeds of animal?
